Yahoo! Singapore Answers blog

We’ve been talking internally for a while now about how we can make the discussions here a little more local. This is of course important for Yahoo! since we’re under new management — you!

As you know, this is where people ask each other questions on various topics and get answers by sharing facts, opinions and personal experiences.

Our goal is to create a trusted source of knowledge, built by our local community in Singapore. To that end, you may have seen numerous local questions from our Yahoo! Editor.

But really, we don’t want these questions to come from us. We would love for you to drive it. Where can I find a great bak chor mee? How good is the Uno steak house in Toa Payoh? How do I prepare lo hei for this coming Lunar New Year?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Use the content filter
The default setting of the content filter on Yahoo! Answers Singapore now displays “All English questions.” If you like seeing Singapore-based questions, switch it over to “Singapore questions only.” This will filter down the questions to just those from the Singapore site. The choice is yours.

2. Check out the other categories
Many of you spend your time in our Singapore travel category. Try taking that a step further and check out the other categories where you can talk about, for example, the great food in Holland Village (Food & Drink), the new MRT routes (Cars & Transportation) and pub recommendations (Entertaining). Ultimately, you’re the owner of the community, so build the discussions in various categories that suit your interests.

3. Try the advance Search with local terms
Try searching for the answers you’re looking for. Click on the “Advanced” search function so you can look for stuff with specific keywords or categories. You can also find discussions that are Singapore-only or based on when the question was submitted.

4. Put the “Singapore element” into your questions and answers
If you’re looking for local answers, first try asking local questions that are specific to Singapore. Where can I find the best chicken rice in Singapore? Did you see the news on the new HDB flats on Channel NewsAsia last night? If you’re looking to create great discussions on Singapore, it helps to localize your questions.

5. Talk to us
Yahoo! Answers Singapore can’t survive without your ideas. You can write us at our suggestion board or post your comment below. We are here to listen.

We hope you’ll find these tips useful. Please share them and help us make this a home for our Singapore community!

Have a great day,

Did you know that on average, 10% of questions are in tie-breaker status at any given time on Yahoo! Answers? And, at any given moment, there are literally millions of questions open on Answers?

For many members, it’s easy to get swept up in the “Ask” and “Answer” flow as you watch the steady stream of answers that come in when you ask a great question. But then the tough part comes: picking a Best Answer! How do you choose?

If you’re looking for a few tips on how to pick your next Best Answer, here are a few taken straight from our community

• “To put it simply, I go with the one that is the most useful or the least useless. I do notice the number of thumbs-ups and downs the answer gets, and I use that and the level/Best Answer percentage of an answerer to determine whether or not I should trust the answerer, but the main deciding factor is what I think of the answer itself. A concise but comprehensive explanation beats a long drawn-out half off topic lecture.” – Luigi
• However, “According to the specification of the question I read carefully and I compare it to the other questions, I make sure their answers make sense and have more clear explanations. Not always the thumbs up are right and this person can be wrong, So I read & understand before I give my best answer…8)” – “Evo_Raptor”
• “[…] If there are two equally good answers, I choose the one with better grammar, punctuation, and spelling.” – *Sombra*
• “I pick Best Answer by re-reading through all the answers again from my question. Then pick the one that was the most helpful, informative, and the answerer was polite while giving me the information I needed.” – Future Pet Vet
• “Whoever has clearly spent the most time answering the question and not just put silly 1 word answers or sarcastic comments. Also, if i believe the answer is 100% true.” – Craig and Charlie

Even with tips like these, picking a best answer can be tough—and for many Answers community members, it becomes so tough, questions go unresolved and end up in tie-breaker status.

All in all, remember: If you asked a question, choose a Best Answer! Otherwise your question may end up in Answers limbo, and you may never give someone the joy of earning a Best Answer!